Promising work in the field of machine learning indicates that people with severe tetraplegia will have a new way to navigate the world with mind-controlled wheelchairs.
Researchers have found that tetraplegic users can navigate natural, and even cluttered, environments with a powered wheelchair using brain signals communicated to a brain-machine interface (BMI), SciTechDaily reported. The primary aim of the study was to demonstrate the reciprocal learning process between users and the BMI algorithm.
“We show that mutual learning of both the user and the brain-machine interface algorithm are both important for users to successfully operate such wheelchairs,” said José del R. Millán, the corresponding author of the study from the University of Texas at Austin. “Our research highlights a potential pathway for improved clinical translation of non-invasive brain-machine interface technology.”
Hellbound and Down 